Congressman Nick Begich successfully intervened to reverse the planned lease termination of the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, his office reported.
By working closely with the Department of the Interior and the General Services Administration, Begich ensured that the observatory’s critical operations would continue uninterrupted, as it plays a vital role in monitoring volcanic activity across the state that provides early warnings that protect lives, property, and the aviation sector.
The observatory’s federal office lease, which had been slated for termination, was officially reinstated as of March 18, thanks to the swift action of Begich and his team.
It’s especially important due to the “yellow” status of Mount Spurr, a stratovolcano located about 75 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska, which has shown above-normal signs of activity, including shallow earthquake activity, ground deformation, and elevated volcanic gas emissions. If the volcano erupts, it would have a significant impact on the more populated areas of Alaska, including health impacts for some, and interrupted flights for others.
“The Alaska Volcano Observatory federal office lease is critical for mission objectives, particularly in the midst of a growing volcanic threat,” Congressman Begich said in a statement. “This observatory is important to Alaska’s safety and aviation industry. My staff and I worked with the Department of Interior and the GSA to address this issue as a high priority.”
Congressman Begich reiterated that the observatory’s operations are indispensable to Alaska’s safety and economic stability.
“By acting swiftly to restore the lease, we ensured that critical monitoring systems remain in place, aviation alerts continue uninterrupted, and Alaska’s residents, businesses, and visitors are protected from avoidable risks,” he said.
The Trump Administration, through the Department of Government Efficiency, is cancelling the leases of dozens of federal building leases nationwide in an effort to reduce the costs of government. The current number of federal building leases slated for cancellation is 136 leases, according to the DOGE website.
Job well done Nick!
I don’t like this back and forth. DOGE cut this and now throwing it back into the mix. The opposite of EFFICIENCY!
You could make an argument for many of the DOGE cuts…it’s funny to see the reneging once it affects specific people. We need to DOGE the DOGE!
Share your frustrations, This isn’t the only frustration, Sure this particular issue while important involves a building lease, not personnel though there are cases involving bringing folks back, most by court ordered reversals of DOGE actions. That is a huge frustration to my thinking as it relates to the consequences of these judges acting as un-elected presidents. I’ll let the “Wizards of Smarts” work this frustration and allow me to address the real frustration. The various appointees of the various departments related to the border invasion constantly are in front of the cameras making pronouncements of “We have caught (this or that) and we WILL prosacute them” Well, dang! DO IT! When do we see the Holy Poly in orange jump suits and hear the clank of chains dragging on the floor!!! How many of these “We Have” statements have be made and not a single dang conviction much less a court room presentation. NO- These Deep States are allow in most cases, to retire with full benefits, or walk away without any consequence. beyond having their secret service terminated or access to
secret security clearance pulled. A potential career killer, but not any cost for the cause of leaving the employment,
This is my top frustration and it grows,
Cheers,
Johnsond-Ketchikan
Right on Johnson. Our Judicial system is completely compromised & out of control. Many of the judges need to be wearing orange jumpsuits. They have violated the public’s trust and done a shit job in general. And attorneys. Well most of them are scum. It’s time for a change of the guard at every court house. We want laws upheld to the max. No more hand slaps on felons it’s a joke.
I like the way you turned that around.. not mention the message itself.. nice work.
DOGE needs to take a good look at the Anchorage VA Clinic and the many employees who are still working from home due only to the employee’s preference. Katherine, a nurse in the senior ranks at the VA, claims to work ten hours a day, four days a week (mostly from home) and always gets a three-day weekend. I nominate her and others working this sham work schedule for thorough job audits.
Yeah ok lets go back to taxpayer dollars being used to study transgender traits amongst the rat populations of India if thats what turns your crank and justify the trillions in debt eventually sinking this Titanic economy of zero productivity from USA and rely on everything being built elsewhere.
Exactly. What’s efficient a bout cutting things randomly, paying people to not work and then reinstating them?
Doge is needed. We have to cut this Government. Sometimes it requires some adjustment. Doing nothing is not on the table! I know some of you worship Government as your God but if Government is the answer it was a Stupid question. Democrats in government break everything they touch. there are over 428 federal agencies. that is insanity. The larger the Government the smaller the citizen. So Doge Cut baby cut!
More self congratulations to avert a self-induced crisis. Nick can brag about this at his next Town Hall
He’s done more than you, Frank.
This part exactly. Creating problems for the government to fix has never been easier than now.
I mean WTAF? So we’re patting ourselves on the back because we’ve been able to rescue the Alaska Volcano Observatory from the reckless cancellations of DOGE? Another fine example of them blindly shooting only to find out that many things actually bleed. What a bunch of amateurs. I do certainly hope that if something bad results from their actions, they are held to account for them.
It was a lease on a building that was up, the Alaska Volcano Observatory wasn’t cancelled.
You’re smart enough to know that this is how government is supposed to work, checks and balances, trust but verify. This is an example of a service that is actually needed, how many leases on how many buildings are now terminated because they weren’t needed? It’s better than mortgaging the future of your grandchildren for an empty building. Unfortunately our government has grown so large and so burdensome that canceling leases is more efficient than anything else…that should tell a discerning individual just how bad and inefficient the behemoth has become.
Yes I know of course but the point is the same.
Accepting some governmental inefficiency is a small price to pay for the good that it does. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Anti-gov people simply don’t like to pay taxes to support it. It’s not about efficiency at all. It’s about bitter and acrimonious resentment of being forced to do one’s part to support modern society at all. Simple as that.
While you might think it’s as simple as that since you can’t fathom that others have well established opinions on how government should work, it does not necessarily make it so. Many Americans understand that our government was founded to be a small limited government that had minimal intrusion into our lives, it has grown exponentially in the last 100+ years beyond anything the founders envisioned.
LOL “you’re smart enough ” that’s a reach
I’m holding you to account for the waste whidby. When a private sector businesses gets in financial crisis the first thing you do is clean house and get back to basics and a skeleton crew. This is no different. This is exactly necessary. Clean this mess up. They can toss you out in the garage at the same time. You’re a bottom feeding Marxist.
You don’t understand the words out of your own mouth Doug, are you writing from the Pioneers Home yet? Firing everyone, paying them backpay while they don’t work, and then rehiring them later isn’t efficient, no matter how you slice it. You don’t know what’s going on but you’re mad? That’s just dementia.
I don’t know if its a good or bad lease the AVO has. However, I’m glad to see Mr. Begich act on our behalf go keep AVO functioning as Spurr grumbles. A move at this time doesn’t seem prudent.
Thank you.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled volcanic eruption.
And why exactly are these volcano guys not working out of the FAA flight service stations? ? Thats one of the biggest hazards to navigation. ??? I highly doubt they need their own facilities.
That would be too efficient to share the facility with others.
Its a pride issue.
Because those FAA flight service stations are full, and busy serving the busiest airport in the world, perhaps? Because they do vastly different things? Why don’t you educate yourself on the matter before making blind conjecture?
The scare tactics worked.
Nick needs to work overtime to get public opinion back on his side, appealing to people’s fear was just easy.
It would be interesting to see the percent of office hours all the folks associated with the Alaska Volcano Observatory are spent at the leased building. I suspect that most of the folks are working mostly from home.